6 Mistakes EVERY New Camper Makes When Buying a Fridge!
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- Опубліковано 29 чер 2024
- Your fridge efficiency comes down to more factors then most of us realize. You will be surprised how many of us make mistakes when buying a fridge. Size Matters, sort of.... You have to find that sweet spot of efficiency within the size lineup of any 12 volt fridge. And then there is cost. Does high dollar actually equal better fridges? Not necessarily. In this episode we will tackle the 6 common mistakes new fridge owners make so you don't have to.
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CORRECTION: I forgot to mention something during one of the points in the video. You'll know what I am referring to when you get to it in the video. I think those high dollar fridges with high insulation also have more robust, meaning stronger compressors. Because of this, at moderate or lower temperature environments I think they tend to use more energy compared to a budget fridge. Meaning, every time the high dollar fridge compressor turns on, it consumes more energy then when the lower dollar compressor comes on. BUT, at extreme high temps, the power of this high dollar fridge compressor can keep up the battle against the heat, where the low dollar fridge with it's lower insulation value and potentially weaker compressor struggles to keep up with the demand. Hence why the high dollar fridges in my experience struggle in average environments, but excel in high temperature extremes. After makingn this video ICECO reached out to me with this statement about the APL55. "Regarding the power consumption of the APL55 mentioned in the video, I'd like to clarify the data. The energy consumption figures displayed on our website reflect testing under extreme conditions in Max mode and in a highly challenging laboratory environment. When tested under standard conditions similar to other fridges, its consumption is 0.405 kWh/24h (lab data)." What this means is that the APL55 was designed to compete with the high dollar fridges like Dometic and Engel. While it consumes a little more energy than the smaller ICECO fridges at moderate temps, it is designed to excel in extreme temps. Hope this brings a little more clarity to the conversation.
Good clarification:) ICECO's "Eco Mode" reduces power consumption by slowing the compressor, it also reduces higher energy start-ups. We run our ICECO in Eco Mode most of the time. In this mode it averages about 16W consumption (33W @ 50% cycle).
We’re right with you there, we run ours in Eco mode all the time. I think the only negative Eco mode that I see is that it fluctuates a tiny bit more up-and-down in terms of temperature range. In the first few years, we would tend to get frozen food in certain areas of our fridge. so we ended up turning up the temperature and that didn’t work either. and now we just keep it at 37 in Eco mode and put different types of food in different areas of the fridge based on how much cold they can handle. I don’t know if 37 works for all models, but it’s been good for us with the JP 40. We are so close to joining the Bean club again! Really hoping in the near future we can do another adventure with you guys.
Bought the cheapest one we could get from Princess Auto. Works well. When we aren't camping, it acts as a beer/beverage fridge. As a Canadian, no way we'd ever mount a fridge on the tongue. The bears know what coolers look like.
🤣 Right! We spend a lot of time in bear country. But not typically with habitual bears in regular campgrounds. I’m definitely going to have to find a secondary location for that fridge when in bear country.
I’m currently building my teardrop camper, watching your channel and others like it are a huge help in preplanning. Keep it up!
Thank you for the encouraging words, I appreciate it. Looking forward to hearing how your teardrop camper turns out.
I use my 12v fridge as freezer. Keep food frozen till needed,and then put in cooler that is kept cool by ice/ice packs made in freezer daily
Great idea. Thank you.
What if you have a limited space?
Most well insulated coolers are Huge with very small inside.
Probably just have a 12v freezer and bring out what you want for the day. keep them in a lunch box to thaw.
I’ll be making a video on this soon, it’s a bit expensive but amazing efficiency and use of space and that’s the oyster cooler
I have the space in my 4Runner and it works out great. Have food for many days.
@@user-jm5dw3gm8y
4Runner NO!
RV or Camper YES!
I heard of someone recently who was using a very small fridge as a freezer to keep their old style cooler supplied with fresh reusable ice packs. They changed the out every day. I was intrigued, but I wondered how much power it might take to maintain those colder temperatures all the time, even with the very small fridge.
We have a large population of active members in the playing with sticks community who use this method. They swear by it. I would love to give this a try, sounds like a good video.
this is what I have been doing for over a year...works so well... also prepare foods ahead of time that go in the cooler when I'm ready to use them and it usually takes about 2 days for those to thaw out, adding extra cooling to the cooler... best part is I can have ice cream or ice whenever I want it.... I have an alpicool and it's very efficient, and wrapped in reflectix....
@@bikingal4283 Thank you for taking the time to share this!
Camping fridges are really a cool topic. You can just chill and discuss them. You don't even need a fancy intro you can just to a cold open right into them.
😆 Love it! Good seeing you, my friend. I was interested to see if you’d be able to show up on Sunday. This was part of the reason why I changed the date because I wasn’t getting those early Jennifer comments anymore.
@@PlayingwithSticks Its canada day weekend.. though i was out shopping, came back and checked and logged my comments for you :)
@jenniferstewarts4851 you rock! Up near Alaska everybody called it something else I can’t remember it, like Canada long day weekend or something?
@@PlayingwithSticks Canada day long weekend. just cuz money is canada day so its a 4 day weekend.
Love my iceco fridge.
It’s been fun, when we first used ICECO it was this no-name brand that we just took a risk on and now I see them everywhere. It’s that seccop or Dan Foss compressor that I really love.
I finally got tired of the ice thing after years and decades of using the conventional cooler. Then I finally pulled the trigger and got my first camping fridge. I did some homework and came up with the ICECO VL45. But now I needed solar too. So I went down that rabbit hole as well. So in the end, to save money not having to buy ice for as much as $8 a bag, I spent $1500 building a solar system. Since then I've been screwing around with the solar system which I still don't have working properly. So then I invested in one of those 300 watt power station. Another few hundred. Well that wasn't big enough so then I bought the 1000 watt model. So now I've got well over $3000 invested in order to save $8 on a bag of ice. Funny the rabbit holes we go down. I'm about ready to go back to a tent, and a cooler that uses ice. What happened to the simple camping life???
This comment is so good. This is exactly why I made this video. I’m in between campers right now so I’ve been camping out of my instant pop-up tent. And I’ve been recognizing what you’re saying. In my pursuit of easier more efficient camping I’ve actually made it harder. I have a lot of reflecting to do for this next camping season.
A good amount of research into others experiences showed me how much of a cash grab there was fore people to " Disconnect" from civilization by getting out doors by tethering the Technology we use to the trips ...there really is a Smart and innovative Gadget that people were making due without that Just make the Trip/Journey easier that have gotten more efficient as well as affordable. And I like the premise of what Playing with Sticks is Doing Pointing that out BUT the Elephant in the Room is Whom these Activities are Catered to. Not just the Obvious Able Bodied but the less obvious " More Affluent" meaning those whom have "extra" OR " Recreational Time Away From Their Jobs. The Barrier For entry to Outdoors Activities....it has even Prompted facebook groups like the one I belong to called "Overlanding for the Poor". People view these advancements as a way to Ease into a Lifestyle that has been Coined as "Roughing it"....whereas Sportsman's ( Hunters, Hikers, Fishers, Spelunkers, Rafters, etc.) have occupied that Space have Went Right Past that Phase dragging the whole industry ( and us) behind it into the tech laden future of features and comforts. Like Hunting when you've brought food on the trip What you are doing out there determines your gear. And all of this could be boiled down to Glorified Survival in an undomesticated place in which case its best to go out in style Most would say given the choice. battery sized air pumps, battery powered fans, lights, speakers, projectors, drones, fridges, all make life easier in the woods or an alley... the key is to utilize them to save time space and effort and if it doesn't do these things then they can be eliminated or swapped but for a lot of people like myself the price dictates whether I will be able to buy them to use in the first place and finding a Goldilocks zone of features, to reliability, cost/space and energy savings is the goal....a goal playing with sticks helps us all at.....but its also easier than ever do to 'knockoff brands" offering comparable things at fractions of the price. I have Euhomy 37 & 48q 12v Dual zone Fridges w/ Bluetooth and wheels and even removable swappable Batteries like power tools...Got Both plus Batteries for $650. Il get another one in the same lineup soon ( 24qt) for another $150 and for $800 I'm set of the next 2-3 years if they hold up. I have 6x Rotomolded Coolers ( yeti Knockoffs) of Various Sizes i got on Clearance for $200. Got a Ecoflow Delta Pro for $2600 with 2x 400w Solar Panels so I feel you on the price tag but that's actually half off and its definitely overkill as I have plenty of Power tools Batteries that have inverters to act as small draw generators to top off anything. After I get the 3x different Ecoflow River2 Series stations off Ebay ( Another $750 probably) il be set but its absolutely not neccesary as I have a essentially backpacking Gear that I've pieced together over the years like solo stoves and such that require no power. not because its better but because its redundant in case there is no power to be sourced and the materials they are made of is usually sturdy like stainless steel and double stitched. where money can be saved save but where quality is needed ....bu second hand.
@allenjohnson4938 you remind me of an independent film we watched in Alaska like 10 years ago. I can’t even remember what it was titled something like “the white man is crazy.” or why the white man is crazy. And it was, I believe, set in Greenland with the Inuit. And the premise of the movie was the Inuit just going about his daily life to survive. And in the background were these westerners spending all this money, hauling all this gear, and putting themselves in situations where they were risking their lives. And the Inuit people just couldn’t understand. Why would these people place themselves in the situation? why do they need all this gear? Why would they risk their lives, for no material gain? The movie really stuck with me. It was cute and funny, but also had the larger meaning. Then I married my wife, May. She looks at me, just like those Inuits looked at those men with their gear. 🤣 I still get a little crazy sometimes, but she does a great job of keeping me in check.
I use my fridge as a freezer and use blue ice blocks... I have been doing this for over a year...works so well... I also prepare foods ahead of time and freeze them, they go in the cooler when I'm ready to use them and it usually takes about 2 days for those to thaw out, adding extra cooling to the cooler... best part is I can have ice cream or ice whenever I want it.... I have an alpicool and it's very efficient, and wrapped in reflectix....have to change out the blocks about every 2 days...do have to say that the dual zone iceco looks enticing but pretty hefty price
I was blown away impressed with how well insulated our Dometic 35 is when its thermistor went on the fritz and it kept over-cooling. We were leaving on a 3 week trip with no time to get the part to repair it, so I put three frozen bottles of water in the corners and a couple of bluetooth remote thermometers in it and we would plug it in when the temperature approached 38° and shut it off when it approached 30°. We’d turn it off at bed time and it stayed safely cold overnight (temps in the high 50’s and low 60’s in the car).
Yes, like I mentioned in the video those domestics have incredible insulation. There’s a reason why they cost a little bit more. It’s not just a namebrand thing, the craftsmanship and materials used are fit for the job. Thank you for sharing this.
I ended up selling my 12 volt fridge with my Scamp and went back to a cooler. I am done with that and just ordered the same fridge I had before. For me dual zone is a must. I am only camping with myself and two young kids, I don’t want to deal with multiple coolers and fridges. I have an older Bluetti 500 and its only job is the fridge so I don’t care about efficiency as much. We mostly camp weekends and I do have a solar panel, but I like to move around and will charge it from the car too. My fridge is my only real power need. I have another very small power station that can handle my phone and few rechargeable lanterns. I do think you made really good points! I just know for me power is not the biggest issue, and I am looking for the cheapest dual zone that will help me get rid of the coolers.
Good point. For shorter use cases the efficiency isn’t as important. But the price tag is. I’m glad more and more companies are coming on the market with quality affordable fridges. The three that I see a lot of the community using are Alpicool, ICECO and Bouge RV. I’m not sure of the quality of the other two because I haven’t used them, but I’ve used Bouge RV products in the past and have had a great experience with them. It’ll be interesting to see in the comments here, but I think from what I’ve heard in other videos of ours is that people have been having good experiences with their Alpicool as well.
We got a Camco Cam-450 (45 liter) with our pop-up camper and love it. We only use it as a fridge, but it has a dual zone capability. There's also a Cam-550 (55 liter), also with dual zone capability. The Camco Outdoors website has them listed as on clearance, so they can be had for less than $300 new. They seem to be out of the 45 liter, though.
@bobcampbell2074 it’s been so nice hearing of all these different affordable fridges that are working for people
Great info👍
Hi Patrick!
I really liked this one. My 12v is near 5yrs old now and at the time the mid size Dometic was kind of expensive but tough enough for my off road use. After my AGM batteries kicked the bucket, (due to my fridge and, or, my heater ) I sized my system accordingly. 200 amp hour worth of batteries and possible 600 w of solar that is set away from the trailer in the sun. Although, I have 200 Watts fixed to the roof of the trailer now.. I will never run out of juice!
I can also charge from my alternator .
I might get a really small freezer just for meats and cocktail ice. Much love to you and your family and keep pumping out great videos❤
I also like the Sunday schedule too!
First, thanks for the feedback on the Sunday schedule. Second, always great to hear from you. Third you are such a great use case for this video. For most people this is a good case of how batteries and solar could get out of control if you pick up the wrong fridge for your camping style. For you, you need this setup because of how you camp. You and I have talked about this many times. Your needs are much different then the average camper. But if the average camper picked up my APL55 because they thought it would be the best, beings it was the most expensive, they would be in for a sad surprise. I'm building my trailer out more like you. I will need a lot of solar on my rig. I think if it all can fit I will end up with 560 Watts between the two CGIS panels and the Lightleaf solar on the front. Definitely overkill for most. Even with my JP50 Pro all I would have needed was 200 watts. I love a setup like that. But, I really didn't have a choice. This will also give me the ability to test items like induction cooking, ac, etc. I really geek out on monitoring power consumption. I really like your idea of the small freezer. I may experiment with an icemaker at some point. I see a lot of people switching over to that method. If Bean is on schedule I should be getting my camper in two to three weeks. I can't wait!!!!
@@PlayingwithSticks that is awesome! You also have a number of items that need to be charged like cameras etc. I would love to get away from propane 100%. And move to the induction etc. They're coming out with new solar panel types every day. I looked at those ice makers as well. And they look pretty cool. They draw a lot of energy though.
Renergie has a great controller that works well with solar and your alternator energy. That is what I went with. I also went with a 208 amp hour sok battery. I do plan on getting another one.
My ideal plan is to be out indefinitely with only having to come in to town for food. I've also put together quite a water filtration system, but all's I need is a UV light to top it off.😁
@sierramantrvlnus big fan of Renogy! I see why you went that direction. There are some companies coming out with their own proprietary alternator charges. The first one I saw was from Eco flow. I think it’s more suited to something like a truck or a van, because you’d have to run it from the vehicle to the trailer. But it’s designed to essentially run straight from the alternator into your power station. Kinda neat. And for those of us with trailers, I guess you could just move that power station to the car when driving and then bring it back. Much more efficient charging vs the cigarette adapter. Your water system sounds very intriguing. The most fancy I ever see when I’m out at the campsite as people with a Berkey water filter 😆
I did run a 6 gauge wire from the car battery to the trailer independently. And so the controller is actually mounted in the battery box of the trailer.
It allows the solar and the alternator as in one unit. Saves on space.
Although water is very heavy. I do not travel with a full water tank all the time. But if I am heading out where no Creeks Lakes water Etc is available, then I will fill up for coffee in the morning and or showers etc. It's nice to have a clean head of hair. The Berkey type systems are quite bulky and setting up would be a daily thing. So, I got a 120 volt food grade pump that feeds through a sedimentary type of filter, then goes into a two-stage clear Source filtration system which includes carbon filters and a ceramic filter filter filtering it down to that 99.99% clean water,
I use it for boiling water like coffee or spaghetti etc. But having a UV filter will allow me to have it as drinking water as well. I do clean my tank regularly. I mean you can drink the water, but adding the UV would be the last thing.
@@sierramantrvlnus With that UV it would just give you that extra peace of mind. Years ago I picked up that UV pen. Probably 10 years ago now. It sounded so cool. But every time I am in the field I just don't trust it. Sounds too good to be true to just wave my magic uv wand around my water and it is good to go. There is something to be said about redududant systems, even if it is only truly redundant.
Thanks Drew! Loved this video! Great info and tips!!
Hey Brad! Thank you so much for this. This week it’s going towards ice money. I wasted so much money on ice making a video. I’ve been doing a bit of ice testing and it’s adding up. It’s been fun to use some wireless thermometers to get some physical data to back up some of the anecdotal things I’ve been experiencing in the field. Remember that cooler tip video I made? There were some points in there that I believed in, but after running this data, that prepping stuff is way more important than I realized. All this to say, thank you.
You are so welcome! I'm glad you out a link to the low water dish cleaning video you did which I have used that technique countless times now. Great choice of camera angle putting the camera at the bottom of the fridge! I thought I spotted your Oester cooler in the vid!!
Excellent video. More food for thought.
Glad you enjoyed it and good to see you as usual
Excellent points and analysis on use. My first 12v fridge is (still using it!) a VL45. I think it is robust and you can't beat its reliability (that compressor!) with a warranty of 5 years! I power it with a jackery 500 and 120w solar to keep the jackery charged and it works like a charm, I've run it 3 days straight off that Jackery 500 without recharging (cut it close but it did it!). Had enough capacity for food for 5 people (steaks were packed frozen to help, they were still frozen 2 days later!) Eco mode saves a heap of power too. I made a "blanket" for it out of Reflectix and it makes a huge difference (I think the covers from the manufacturer are nice but very pricey). Recently I purchased a Bouge 23 qt 12v fridge to go solo camping and can't complain either. Same set up for power. I have to make a reflectix blankey for it still, but it preformed very well here in the Florida heat (in the shade, of course). Thank you for the video, I love your channel!
Love hearing this! Like you, we were surprised how long we can run on smaller power stations. Especially if you mix that with some solar. About three summers ago we lived in the bean trailer for I think it was 2 1/2 months. We only had to stop for shore power two times and we were only powering everything with a 100 amp lithium battery and a 90 watt zamp solar panel. Mind you, this was in the west with great weather. But I was just amazed. I was telling everybody all summer that the Zamp solar was 150 W and came to find out at the end of the summer that it was only 90. As much as I complained about that thing being so big and expensive, it must’ve been pretty efficient.
I have a BougeRV 23quart 12v (Mint Green Color) fridge cooler and LOVE IT! It uses very little energy. I plug it into a EcoFlow Delta2, which can last for several hours in the heat. I live in Central Texas and use it all the time, especially buying cold items from the grocery/Costco. I can fit 2huge plates of Costco Ground Beef/Beef Stew Chunks each plate just over 6lbs in the cooler. Given the Feels like temp is near or over 100°F daily, this gives me peace of mind buying groceries. It'seven hotter inside the car (CR-V, I fold down the shorter rear seat keeping the back upright and add a blanket where the seat was to flatten the bottom level-ish before placing the electric cooler down. This mostly keeps the cooler from sliding. I've also used it to get raw milk at the Farmer's Market too. I love that I can carry it by myself even when fully loaded with food. I'm 5'6" and not very strong.
I’ve been slowly gathering, Bouge RV products over the years. And I’ve come to find it’s a brand I really trust. I didn’t trust it at first because it was so affordable. But what I look for in brands are people that are doing their own research and design and coming up with their own technology. Bouge RV is not just copying people. They’re actually making their own stuff. Everything you described about your grocery runs, it puts a smile on my face because it reminds me of ours. I’ve never done the fresh milk thing, though, that sounds fun.
Thanks! Helpful@@PlayingwithSticks
Nice Drew !! as expected great video, one additional strategy for the cooler and fridge approach is to freeze some food ( especially meats) to go into cooler and as it thaws in a few days move to fridge or eat. This helps keeping other things cool and save space.
Tom, thank you for sharing this in both locations! I’ll respond the same to this one as well. Another thing that I will add to Tom‘s comment is that you can do this also with frozen water bottles. Later on that frozen water becomes your drinking water.
@@PlayingwithSticksyes I like to freeze the square Crystal Geyser gallon bottles. Fit nicely in the cooler and works as a water source too.
@@chrisharmon5453 I never thought of doing that. Great idea.
Thank you.
You are most welcome!
A watt hour is W×hr, not W÷hr, and the most correct measure is joules, which is (W×hr)/3600
I had a feeling people would say this. I tried to just keep it as simple as possible. No amp hours, joules. I just reflected what the website said to keep it simple. Thank you for pointing this out though.
Anyone looking to buy a 12v compressor type cooler should definitely watch this video!
We chose the ICECO JP40 about 3 years ago because of the low energy specs, Danfoss (SECOP) compressor, and it happened to be a great fit for our galley cooler space. My only concern was how well the body would hold up over the long haul of heavy use. Our JP40 has seen hundreds of days of use in demanding conditions. It is in excellent condition. Even the insulative bag is holding up well. Granted, we take decent care of our gear. I like the second cooler concept. We use a large soft sided cooler for this purpose. It folds pretty flat for storing when empty. It's waterproof with a tough fabric exterior so we can set it in a creek or splash it down for evaporative cooling. Adding some frozen bottled juice/water also helps in either cooler.
*Not ALL compressors are designed for generous tilt operation. That's a spec I would confirm before buying for overlanding. Last but not least make sure the cooler you buy properly fits your space. The vents MUST be given space so that heat has a unobstructed exit!
Great video! We love the overland clips:)
Thanks for clarifying that about the angle of operation. Sometimes I get so caught up in a quick edit that I forget to put a little clause when I make strong statements like that. I so appreciate the time you took here to share your set up and how it’s working. I was just browsing through your videos today. Once I get the bean, I’m gonna have to catch up on a lot of those videos to start making some of my own modifications.
@@PlayingwithSticks I'm so excited for you! I'm sure you guys will create a fantastic Bean:)
We have the Dometic CFX 45. In Florida, it's a no-brainer. We have the small ICECO that we take sometimes if we need a freezer on longer trips. It can even do dual zone which works great in cooler temps.
Love hearing this! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for illuminating some lesser understood aspects of the portable ‘fridge.
Our little Casita travel trailer has a good Dometic a/c d/c refrigerator.
It works pretty well for us, as we mostly stay at full hook-up RV parks.
I consider fridges like Dometic and Engel to be at the top. I've had great experiences with Dometic. But, I've also learned just because they are the best, doesn't mean they are all created equal. Like you, my experiences have mostly been with a/c d/c built in dometic fridges. So when I tried the mid-size portable Dometic I was a bit shocked.
I run a Li Time mini 100Ah battery in my camper with a separate solar charger controller and then run 12V around the camper where I need it. I've never had an issue with running out of energy. A couple of helpful hints. First, make sure your food is completely cold soaked before running the fridge on battery. So run it loaded at home the night before you leave. Second, don't leave it sitting in the sun. I put mine under my camper. You can also use a blanket over the top to help insulate it. Third, I don't care if they're less efficient, I use soft briefcase or suitcase solar panels because they fold up to nothing. So I can actually carry more solar generation with me even though it's less efficient. By running my own power concoction, i don't need a DC-DC converter like those commercial units. So I have about 10-15% more energy because I'm not losing it to conversion.
LOVE the information in this comment. And anecdotally, I don’t notice the little loss in efficiency with my portable solar panels either. In reality, they’re probably more efficient because you’re able to chase the sun easier. I noticed when I had that rigid Zamp panel. Yes, it was portable, but it was so heavy and cumbersome partway through the day I just stopped chasing the sun.
Thank you, Drew, this was very informative. Right now I’m using the cooler with ice but you have me thinking I need to upgrade! I do like the idea of using a freezer to keep the ice packs frozen and switching them out when needed. That would eliminate the need to go to town every day searching for ice! ❤
Another great option that people are doing right now is buying 12 V icemakers. This is something I’m going to experiment with soon as well.
@@PlayingwithSticks I bought one of those, but haven’t used it yet for that. My daughter and son-in-law use it but it does take awhile to get get enough ice. I can time it for you if you want.
@@ramonapuckett3059 Yes, I would love to know how long it takes to make ice. And how much watts it uses. Some people tell me it is very efficient and then others say the complete opposite. I have a feelingn it comes down to brand.
@@PlayingwithSticks oh I’m sure! I’ll get more information and will let you know
@@PlayingwithSticks we did this. Just used it our last camping trip but we are hooked to 120 at the camp ground so no worries about power consumption at all. Saved me a few trips to pick up ice. Makes 26lbs of ice a day if you run it constantly. It has to be emptied…. Haven’t tested that # yet…
I got the setpower rv45 because it was cheaper and tested more efficient than the nearly identical iceco. I love it. Never came close to draining my 100ah lifepo4 with a folding panel in AZ. I even ran it through most the winter and spring at 0°as an additional freezer at home when an elk filled my deep freeze and was an overflow option.
When camping, all beverages and quick grab stuff go in the cooler because we're in and out of it all day, and food stays shut in the fridge. Works wonders.
Love hearing this. And I'm not surprised you found something better. Like I mentioned there are unicorns out there within the brand itself and like you did, unicorns between brands. Thank you so much for sharing this. So far I am hearing great things here about Setpower and Alpicool. Seems to be a great bang for the buck.
You covered the how to use a fridge so no additional input on that.
We picked up a 50L Alpicool fridge back in 2019 to serve as food storage for camping, and its still going strong today.
Its no longer our primary camping fridge since our TT has a 12V built in (though it is power hungry), but when/if our portable 12v fridge dies I will replace it with another fridge.
12V fridge is just so much more versatile than a cooler. We use it at least 3 or 4 times a month with no food storage space lost to ice for day trips (picnic lunch - though it is often oversized for this purpose), shopping trips, or long weekends to visit relatives (we are sometimes picky eaters and want to be good guests)
Thank you for sharing this. Love the picky eater comment. That is great. We are hearing so much about people's positive experiences with Alpicool.
So far, very happy with my Bouge RV 23. It is small but works for 2 people for 3-5 day camp.
We used our little 21 or 23 quart cooler for a family of 3 for two years. So we get you.
I just got an Anker Everfrost. Can't wait to try it out.
I didn’t know anker was making fridges. I have many of their products and appreciate all of them. I assume they’ll put the same effort into those fridges.
We car camp, so we were using piezo electric fridges, but they can only take temperatures down 20-30 degrees, not great in 90 degree heat. I love compressor fridges, we now have 2. Both are 35 quart range because that's what fits. Normally we bring one and it's just light meals, snacks and drinks. But if we bring 2, the second one is the freezer. Because we can refreeze ice blocks, and keep some things frozen for later in the trip. And yes, both have wheels.
PS they also double as our emergency back up fridge for the house. We can keep them going using the car battery if need be. I drive a Prius.
Such a great comment. Thank you so much for sharing this Lisa.
The way one loads the fridge has a lot to do with it's cycling and life of battery. cold almost frozen meats at the bottom , drinks on top of that and veg on top of that. pre cooling is also very important. switching between battery and 120 at a campsite helps if you do go to a campsite with power. A fridge with automatic switching between 12 and 120 is great as well. ARB has this and is one of the reasons it is so expensive. The ones you have to change the cords out like bouge and iceco are a pain to do this with but it works. Being a Florida resident I have started to use 200watts of solar and 100amphrs of lipo just for the bouge 23Q in my bushwhacker galley. I don't have to put it in my car with my larger ARB while driving. My car also has solar and a lipo. In my T@G I use the same setup, but don't use my T@G as much. It is out for rent and the solar on it because of the curve and low wattage panel is a different animal.
Great advice here Bryan. I didn't know that aabout the ARB coolers having the ability to switch between the two. I never know where to keep my AC cord without losing it. I rarely use it, but when I do need it, it seems like I can never find it. Haha.
My first elec fridge was a 2011 dometic 35qt. Paired with an older suitcase 100 watt solar panel it did the job but the big issue became size and weight. I switched to a coleman red, metal side cooler with ice. That became an ice hunting issue, along with probably not keeping food at acceptable healthy temps. This year, I've switched to the Iceco Go20 along with a miniature 100 watt fold up solar panel and 2 500 watt batteries. The size and weight of the gear are under control now. Im learning about charging and what F1 means and E1. I keep the fridge temp at 32 so if it gets fussy about its wattage feedings, there is some room to live with temp swings. For me, this is complicated. Maybe you have another video, or someone else has a video about basically running these fridges.
The info you presented here makes sense, and i think i have the right gear for me, but the learning curve is really steep.
Thanks!
We actually have a video entirely dedicated to our go20 paired to our 100 Watt panel. I don’t know if you’ve seen it. But we call it our never-ending endless refrigeration set up. You have our vote of confidence in that set up. I don’t know if I’ve seen a video about fridge usage. But it would be a good one. We find these fridges tend to hover 3 to 4° in both directions. We aren’t very conservative with ours, so for the last four or maybe even five years we’ve kept ours at 37°. The big trick is finding out where your fridge is the coldest. We had to get it up to 37 because there’s some parts of our cooler that are so cold. It’ll freeze items. Once you figure out where your fridge is coldest, you kind of build around that based on your food needs. In the obvious way of finding it is, wherever is closest to your compressor is typically the coldest.
I think I've seen that video but will go back and find it.
@jennstuart2031 I don’t think it’s one you need to go back to, because I didn’t really teach how to use it. It’s more just to say, it looks like you did your research well. We studied fridges extensively back then and settled on the Dan Foss compressor. So glad we did.
I am very happy with the Go20. It's just a panic moment in the morning to get a F or E code and the temp of the fridge is at 43 and I'm scrambling to re plug it and get it cooling. It takes a bit of the fun out of camping. I don't understand why the battery doesn't fully keep charging the fridge.
The Bouge you mentioned in another answer was the other contender but I didn't trust a cheaper fridge. I wanted to do it once and right. I know now that it's a Good fridge.
Everything you’re sharing here is new to me. I wonder if they have updated the electronics since we owned it. I think we owned one of their first original fridges. The other day we saw that they were celebrating like their fifth birthday or something and May and I realized we must’ve got it right when they came out. So ours was never doing any errors. The problem with ours, and the problem with many brands at that time was that the 12 V plugs kept coming out of the connection. So you would just be hanging out at camp and not realizing your fridge hadn’t been plugged in for hours.
VERY appropriate down here in the gulf south.
So, this video is a truckload of good information. I appreciate the detailed info regarding those fridges.
NOAH Weather is predicting temps as high as 110 degrees here. Makes sense to keep a slick noggin these days, right?
Absolutely! I took what you said to heart I’ve been growing my hair out now for six months. You never know how long you’ll have your hair so enjoy it while it lasts. I heard you well. My wife loves it. My mom says I look old because it’s showing all my grays. 😆
@@PlayingwithSticks
That is a handsome looking haircut. :)
And I don’t want your wife to be upset about a haircut, so you keep on keeping on.
I will keep shaving on your behalf. How does that sound my friend?? 🪒
@kebeaux6546 I think that’s a good deal
@@PlayingwithSticks
I thought you might think so. 🧑🏻🦲
As long as you want
I reckon a 40L fridge cooled by an efficient and reliable compressor like a SECOP is a great starting point suitable to most people and setups. I have a few fridges and my go-to for most trips is still my trusty old Waeco CF-40 that looks identical to your Iceco JP40, especially when paired with a cooler for drinks that I keep in my vehicle when we're out exploring anyway.
Plus, they'll fit into most campers' galleys and I've always been a big proponent of that because regularly moving a loaded fridge, keeping a SUV hatch open to access the fridge or walking around the camper to a fridge and back isn't fun, especially while you're cooking.
An anecdotal tip: I installed a lockable boat vent on my squaredrop's galley hatch, which I closed when travelling but I opened the vent at camp while the hatch was closed. I never measured the power draw difference after I installed it but the fridge's (noticeably loud) LG compressor cycled less frequently with the vent open during our Queensland summer.
Mmm dragon fruit 🤤
Yes, I agree with that 40L/Secop statement. And what you mentioned about the walking around is what worries me a little bit about my new trailer. I've been so spoiled with my cooler in the galley all these years. Great tip on the vent. I often wonder how my cooler is performing in that sealed up galley. I may have to test that one of these days.
So I’m confused. What size is your 12v grig, ICECO 40, 50?
I’m probably confusing you because I own three. 🤣 I just don’t highlight them on the channel the one I’ve been using for years and you see most of my videos is the JP 40. The one you saw me pulling is the upgrade to that called the JP Pro series. I find it’s barely any more expensive, it’s more efficient, and almost better in every way. The one you saw me pulling in the video was the JP 50 pro. It’s a nice size for our family and about the same efficiency as the regular JP 40. But the one I said was the true unicorn the most efficient was the JP 40 pro, but I do not own it. That 50 quart one was our new one. I’m forced to use that on our bean stock 2.0 because I need a fridge that is weather sealed. That’s that shiny fridge you see on the front of the bean. Did that make sense, or did I just confuse you more? I’m responding to comments on my phone today, and sometimes my phone dictation gets a little crazy
I have a Iceco AP45 i have used for several years but it was a fridge only, we switched to a Set Power PT 35 with a dual zone that can be switched up however you need to use it and each zone has its own cover.
The power consumption is about the same as my Iceco so what i really gained was more flexibility and did not really sacrifice anything.
So on 2 recent trips we used it diff (hence its flexibility) one trip we needed more freezer space but the next trip we needed more frig space i really like the flexibility of the Set Power and will be selling my Iceco fridge.
Thank you for sharing this. I think you are the 3rd person to mention the benefit of dual zone. I wish I would have thought about that when making this video.
You can give a small freezer, and freeze that ice packs and rotate them from freezer to cooler. There are people on the road who do that.
Efficiency is hard to figure out from the info provided on manufacturers websites, and quality reviews are hard to find. Especially when each reviewer has his/her own test method. Hopefully you can find reviews from the same reviewer for multiple models you are interested in. A good solar panel, whether fixed or portable, is good insurance to keep power available.
Great point! A great example are the fridge is we’ve tested. We found that what the manufacturer says they can do and what they can actually do in the field are often quite different. I find companies like ICECO and Bouge RV I like their marketing because they are conservative with their efficiency ratings on their website. While ice Coast rating sound like they’re not that efficient, what I find is that in the field the compressor doesn’t kick on that often. An efficient compressor is nice, but if it’s always on, it’s really not that efficient. 🤣
And I second that solar panel statement. It doesn’t take much in terms of panel size, but it gives you peace of mind.
SetPower 55 dual zone has worked good for me. It's in the Xterra. Too heavy to move around. It can fit in front of trailer, but I get into dust and mud. It seems quite efficient. Was cheaper than Iceco but maybe not as sturdy. I'm usually in partial shade in Oregon, have not been under clouds long term. I still have my cooler, but it's a slight pain to switch.
We’ve heard a lot of good things in the community from people who have set power. Good to hear that yours is working well also. With a fridge as big as yours, you’d know if it wasn’t efficient. I was blown away with what that little 35 quart Dometic fridge did to me out in Oregon. I knew fast that it wasn’t efficient. 🤣
Yes, I've kept it running easy, using a Rockpals 600 and folding solar. While I'm in the campground, I leave the Xterra backend open so it isn't so hot in there. But I have to close it when walking the dog child and exploring and at night. I didn't need that big, but if I ever do longer trips, I've got room. It doesn't have a basket. One has to watch the cord or it can be bumped out of place. Once, I turned off the smaller side, and it stayed cold in there anyway.
I think we’ll probably be doing something similar in the back of our vehicle once we get our new trailer. I’ll probably keep the cooler on the trailer during transit, but move it to the vehicle once I get to site.
I just bought a used 2018 Riverside rv retro 177se. Even though it has a propane/electric frig, i expect to have a bev cooler for convenience. Plus, there's just not enough room in the fridge for beer. 😂
Love it! My mother stopped by our new place and couldn’t believe we didn’t have a Bev cooler. We now have one… she took it on herself to bring us an old one. I must admit I’m super thankful.
Goonies……. We are still running coolers. Thought about getting a 12 volt fridge, but we are not out for extended periods and we have yet to be so remote for so long as to worry about ice. Maybe when our schedules change and we are out longer, then the 12 volt fridge.
I was waiting for someone to get that! I was thinking the playing with sticks community might be a little too old for that movie reference.
I’m coming back to loving coolers again now that I’m using more of those frozen water bottles, frozen ice packs, and frozen meat. And like you said if it’s short journeys, I find I’m grabbing the cooler for my picnics and fishing over my 12 V fridge.
Our Yeti is clutch to augment our tiny fridge...and also doubles as our step stool to get in and out of the Kimbo
Stepstool, I like it. You know how much I love dual use camping items. Good to see you on here. I think this Sunday release time is working well, because I’m seeing the regulars here all at once.
@@PlayingwithSticks So I guess I am a “regular” lol…I’ll have my usual…Teardrop special with a side of camping gear scramble and a cup of coffee…black
@BirdPhish well if you take away anything from this channel, it’s to stay away from my GSI coffee rocket. That is if you like your coffee black 🤣
Any way you could do a review on the "Rustic Trail" travel trailers? Just found out they're made in my state and their YT channel doesn't show off the trailers.
When I got my tiny camper I just had it ice chest. Got tired of soggy food so I went to Amazon. I didn’t have much knowledge or money. I knew I needed a decent size. So I went with the Astro Ai 58 quart. It was right around $300 and is now around $250. I’ve had it 3 years now and now problems.
“now” probables or no problems?
@@sunshine3914 no problems
Thank you for sharing this, that’s a new one to me. That’s a pretty big fridge. I’d be interested to know what you’re using to power it?
@@PlayingwithSticks a Zachery and panels.
How big is that Jackery?
Another great video. So one would think that the extra insulation = less compressor run time.
Is there a standard rating that is used for the insulation? Like an R rating?
Did you plot a graph in your testing?
It’s not obvious to me why you say the extra insulation and less efficient compressor is good for area like Florida?
Is it hot and humid vs hot and dry?
I think extra insulation does = less compressor run time. If I was to hypothesize, my assumption is that the higher dollar, higher quality fridges with higher insulation also have stronger compressors (meaning co sume more power when on and deliver faster/strong freezing properties). So in a controlled environment (meaning lower temps or a lab) the low dollar fridge is more efficient because the compressor probably doesn't consume as much energy vs the high dollar fridge. Once that low dollar frige gets to a warmer environment, my guess is that the combination of the lower insulation and weaker compressor just can't keep up with the job. So theoretically I'm guessing brands like Engel or Dometic build their fridges for the extremes. They are designed to work in all environments, causing them to be good at everything, but only great at high temps. Where the low budget fridges are great at low temps and struggles a bit in the extreme high temps. I wish I would have mentioned this in the video. I think one reason I didn't, is because i am not sure. I just have years of anecdotal data that tells me one works in this environment and another works in this environment. I know part of it is insulation, but I also know there is more to the story. Case in point that APL55 I mentioned. Same brand as my other fridges, much higher insulation, but poor regular day energy usage. My guess is even though they all have a Dan Foss/Secop compressor (the APL 55 may be more of a workhorse). And no, unforunately most of these brands do not use "R" Values. It sure would be nice.
Oh and sorry. I mentioned the desert and humid Florida in the same sentence just to say I don't think humidity is the factor, it is just heat in general. Glad you asked for a clarification. I'm kicking myself for not elaborating on this subject.
Thank you for clarifying. It’s greatly appreciated.
Drew, a little bit of age and a whole lot of medical stuff has driven us out of the Teardrop lifestyle we enjoyed for over a decade (bear in mind we teardrop camped, not teardrop miniature RV'd) but I found an old Dodge camper van that didn't leak or smell and we have basically emptied it out and now are overlaying our teardrop "system" into it. For me that now includes a 12V compressor fridge along side a small marine cooler. But: my fridge has an ice maker!
Plus one of the new smart DC to DC chargers which takes the normal alternator charge of 100W and up-scales it to 500W peak, 400W running...I'll let you know how it goes, first trip is real soon.
I’m looking forward to hearing how it goes. That was one thing I thought about mentioning in the video if you have an icemaker, and a cooler it’s a great combination.
I bought a small IceCo fridge and I ran it off of batteries tucked away in my SUV. I had panels on the top of the SUV, and with ability to run it off of the vehicle's 12 volt system it worked fine. But as soon as I got this setup, my kids were done with camping. So, I put a couple of panels on my townhouse patio and used the IceCo as my beer cooler. I loaded up the freezer section with blue ice, to give me longer time in case there were overcast days. Winning! This worked out about a year before the IceCo failed. Losing!
Boo! Thanks for sharing this. It’s these real life scenarios that I love to hear.
So drew are you saying the JP40 PRO duel zone is the way to go if you want a dual zone? I would enjoy an ice cream Sunday once in awhile while camping 😁
The JP 40 pro makes an amazing refrigerator standalone or a freezer standalone. But I don’t know if they have a dual zone model? I haven’t seen it.
@@PlayingwithSticks the JP40 Pro has a single zone model and a dual zone model as well they state consumption is more than the single JP40 .323kwh but less than JP50 single .405kwh at just .356kwh for a Dual zone!
Your research Drew is awesome and I wanted to thank you. I bought a Used Hiker Trailer after watcher your video’s and Matt and Wendy Dewitt’s videos. I wish Bean had the new Bean basic at the time I had bought but think your it should come with Table is a must. And maybe the ability to have a slide out kitchen in the front would be nice for some people myself a party of two+1 dog don’t need as much space inside but don’t want to spend $30k for a trailer so Hiker was the best choice but plywood has its issues I will say.
hey drew, (i'm going to get smacked for this one).. I Notice you don't cover multi-mode 2 and 3 way coolers. portable coolers that run on DC when transporting the, when you get to camp, you can switch them over to propane. a few of them are made to take 1 lb propane bottles burning about .5 lb a day...while other can be pluged into large bottles, or the trailer itself to feed of those bottles, giving you the option to run off that instead.
And while running on propane it might require a dedicated bottle, it does give you days or weeks of fridge time, where you don't need to drain batteries... Heck consider switching modes just when the sun goes down... now you're only running on propane half a day and halfing your fuel usage?
I honestly didn’t know these existed. I thought there were only versions of these that had to be integrated into your camper. Like the three-way fridges we see on travel trailers. I didn’t realize they made portable versions? Any chance you could share a link to one? Wait you’ll probably get blocked sharing that link, just share the name of one. You’re definitely not getting smacked for this one. This is priceless. Kind of reminds me of the alp generators, but for fridges.
@@PlayingwithSticks examples would be
Unique Appliances Off-Grid 26-inch 2.2 cu. ft. Portable 3-Way Propane Freezer
SMETA Propane Freezer 2.4 Cu.
Mobicool 3-way Absorption Power Cooler, 35-qt (Canadian tire)
while they have mostly been supplanted by pure electric options because of solar batteries and such, these are still somewhat big for.. boating. cus you can carry them on smaller boats, plug in a tank, and go with them
@@PlayingwithSticks But yeah, with that you can run on dc power till you get to the camp ground, then shift over to propane power, off a large tank you could be keeping stuff frozen for a month before needing to refill the tank.
@@jenniferstewarts4851 Makes so much sense.
@@jenniferstewarts4851 Wow, finally got the time to look at all of these. That Mobicool looks perfect for most weekend warriors. I would like the option to be able to use propane that would make things so much more simple.
I have a small frig/freezer and a yeti cooler. I use freezer packs. I freeze them all at home. I put half in my yeti, along with as much frozen food as possible. The other half are in the 12 volt freezer. Every day I switch out the frozen packs for the ones in my yeti. NO MORE ICE!!! NO MORE SOGY FOOD FLOATING IN MY COOLER!!! I have used this method for 2 seasons and it works great. If I don't have enough sun to recharge my power station I go back to using ice. My freezer is tiny so it doesn't use much power. I use thin square freezer packs and they fit great in my tiny freezer. When on the road my freezer is plugged into my SUV 12 volt plug. I also made a cover for my yeti out of reflectix. This helps to keep it cooler. My yeti stays in my SUV, my freezer stays in my camper.
Thank you
I was going to write the same.
Which freezer do you use?
Happy travels 🌍🙏
I have a Alpicool C9 10 quart frig/freezer.
@@chriss3314 I have a Alpicool C9 10 quart frig/freezer. 👍
This sounds like a good plan. I am still running coolers and ice.
This comment is gold! Would you mind sharing what freezer you’re using?
I recently purchased a JP40 Pro and I am extremely happy with it. Only thing missing is Bluetooth monitoring.
Thanks for sharing.
If you charge your power station with 12v DC from your vehicle. You don't have to worry about the gloomy days of the North West.
Most power station solar input is around 60v. For faster charging, you can charge by using both methods at the same time using the solar panels and 12 volt from your vehicle.
Better yet, get yourself a DC to DC charger. Pecron makes an alternator charger that charges at 500 watts. It can charge any small power station in an hour (500wh).
These are the type of comments that we love to see. Thank you so much for adding to the conversation.
@@PlayingwithSticks
I forgot to mention. You need to make a splitter for dual charging. Whether you have Anderson power pole, 8mm or XT60. Amazon sells them. I make my own for fun and being cheap. 😁
Is there some formula or data that we can use to figure out the efficiency of a fridge?
I wish there was, but every manufacture has different requirements and measurements for how they measure their efficiency. So what I would do is once you narrow down your brand then you can just go to individual UA-cam channels and look what power set up they have and how long their fridges last. I’ve noticed when it comes to fridges there’s a video out there for practically every model. But anecdotally what I found, in terms of size to efficiency, is that if you want larger capacity, I find 35 to 45 quarts tends to be the sweet spot before it starts going downhill. Most brands once you get into the 50s or above, seem to be less efficient. Well not really efficient, that’s not the right word, they consume your battery faster
What I did wrong was not listen to my gut and listen to a friend who's not informed on van life. I should have got a larger with dual zone. Its time to upgrade 2 months on the road.
That is tough. I get you there. We go back and forth on the Dual Zone. Sometimes during seasons of life our family highly benefits from the Dual Zone. Other seasons we don't use it at all. But when you need it, you need it!
I'm glad you shared this. I didn't even think of mentioning dual zone in the video. Thank you!
@@PlayingwithSticks Its better to have and not need than need and not have. Because you can always set the second zone as fridge . Thats the benefit.
@@PlayingwithSticks Of course your welcome.
@diamante1ification Agreed!
I always use a cooler till the ice runs out and them switch to a cheap 12 volt. I can get 4-5 days with this combo. If you can cover your 12 volt with 1 inch Styrofoam it helps too. If so, remember to leave the vent open to fresh air.
Great tip. Thank you.
What's that cooker at 9:05 ?
I don’t have good Internet on me right now, but I’m assuming that’s our Skottle. It’s also known as a discada or plow disk cooker. We absolutely love it. It’s our primary cooker even in our backyard.
@@PlayingwithSticks Amazing, thank you!
@@somjuan You are most welcome!
Our first fridge was a iceco75. Man, it was enormous and power hungry! We are now looking at a 35l fridge because you need less than you think!
Wow, I didn’t even know they made one that big! I bet you were the life of the party though with that. If you do end up going with the ICECO again, it almost makes sense to go with the 45 because you get more space and about the same efficiency. But I get it, if space is a concern.
@@PlayingwithSticks I'm hoping the apl35 thay comes out in August will be more power efficient. Right now, it's the size that matters!
@jakemaughan3818 that makes sense. I have a feeling that smaller one will have a different compressor. Maybe that’s what I’ll go with as well. At the moment, I feel like the APL 55 is just a bit much for us. If it was just staying on the tongue it would be no big deal, but I think I’ll be moving it between the tongue and the back of the tow vehicle.
Didn’t know difference of 12 V & compressor. Bought 12v. Also didn’t know my 12v outlet turns off on vehicle when I shut down. Lost $250 worth of dog food/meds for them & me. Got Dometic for $1500. GZ for $1700. Suitcase solar $350. In a Subaru Crosstrek 😞. No issues. Bought fridge freezer combo from Costco in 2019. Needed freezer. My dogs had passed so it’s just me on road. I need more solar but I feel like it’s just getting to be $$ like an old Chevy you get for a great price but constantly have to fix something. There’s that point where you have to say enough is enough. I’m there.
Our vehicle does the same thing! Drives me crazy. It’s nicer than any vehicle we’ve ever owned. But all our other vehicles would keep that 12v running. I haven’t taken the time to look into my user manual to see if there’s someway to override that. I keep telling my wife that I’m going to do that soon.
I appreciate you sharing all this. And honestly, it sounds tough. Between losing your dogs, and the increasing prices of everything… i’m really sorry to hear that.
The bulk of highly insulated refrigerators should be coming down, the EcoFlow Glacier is using vacuum sealed panels now. And of course the Oyster cooler is completely vacuum sealed, no more bulky foam. I’m pretty happy with my Oyster, waiting for a fully vacuum sealed refrigerator before I upgrade to a refrigerator.
I like the sound of that. We have been putting the Oyster to the test for over a year. Finally did some real thermometer testing this last week. The results were surprising.
@@PlayingwithSticks oh cool, you going to make a video on the Oyster?
@Penny-mk7fv absolutely! I love it
Trying to decide between dual zone vs single (cheaper and more efficient) zone. In your use case which do you like?
That is a tough one. At first we thought we needed a dual zone. We loved ours. Then the last 4 or so years we went without one and didn't really miss it. We keep our frozen food closest to the compressor. That tends to keep it frozen for a couple of days. Then we start using those items when they are more ready. Where we miss the dual zone is for grocery runs. It is nice to head out to Costco or Sams and put frozen goods on one side and refrigerated on the other. So I would say if you will use it for shopping a dual zone is nice. But for our everyday camping we find we can get by without it.
@@PlayingwithSticks Thanks helpful
Freeze whatever foods you can before leaving and your cooler might not need to turn on until the fourth day out.
Great point!
Booyah 👊🏽 😁 👍🏽 🇺🇸
Thank you!
Beer and drinks are better on ice.
I will second that
Thank God I bought my engle 20 years ago before all the garbage camp on the market.
I’m not sure what you’re referring to? Are you referring to more efficient more affordable fridges? I for one am very happy to see fridges out there that cost much less than a Dometic or an Engel. Not taking any thing away from them, they are the kings of fridges. But I don’t think they’re right for-every use situation.
Love my Engel and energy efficient. No problem running low on my generator….also solar panel. Runs on standard plug in my 4Runner when driving. Quality top of line. Proven reputation and history over many years.
Also draws about 31 Watts of energy when cycling on coldest temperature setting.
However expensive unit, 45 quart cost me $1,000.
@user-jm5dw3gm8y an Engel is pretty hard to beat from what I’ve heard. Thanks for sharing.
What do you do with your fridge in bear country??
Good question. If it is wide open backcountry you a little less careful. But in National Parks, State Parks and other areas with habitual bears you are so diligent to keep that hidden away in the camper or tow vehicle at all times. You follow the same rules for coolers in bear country.
What do you mean by efficiency? You mention it all the time.
I would expect something like power required to keep 1 liter cool in steady state. In this case a bigger fridge in general perform better (due to the ratio of surface area to volume).
Perhaps you're just talking about the power consumption of the fridge?
Also 'watts per hour' does not make sense. You seem to be confusing units for energy and power (which, to be fair, is also a bit confusing).
Yes, speaking of efficiency I’m just talking about how much power a fridge uses in a 24 hour period. There’s so many variables so basically I’m saying regardless of how many times the compressor kicks on and off. How many watts does it use in 24 hours. Typically you’d want to do this in a controlled environment, but I like to test these fridges just in a typical camping environment, opening them and shutting them throughout the day. Efficiency is definitely anecdotal to me in the sense that I’m talking efficient for my style of camping. And that’s what one of those big points were in the video, finding the fridge for your style camping. I realize what per hour do not make sense, I tried to keep this as simple as possible. This is the rating that ICECO uses on their website. Thanks for pointing that out.
Thanks for the answer!
The 24 hour test sounds like fair benchmark.
I can see from the data you show from the 40l vs 55l fridge that the big one does have a lower efficiency on paper. However as a general rule I would expect it to be the other way around.
In any case I enjoyed the video 😊
@BenjaminSalka sorry for the confusion. It is the other way around if you’re talking like model to like model. So the JP 40 pro is more efficient than the JP 50 pro. And the JP 40 original is more efficient than the JP 50 original. But the JP 50 pro is more efficient than the original JP 40 pro. That’s the comparison I was trying to make. That’s the “if you spend just a little bit more money you get quite a bit more efficiency.” Currently the JP 40 original and the JP 40 pro aren’t even that much difference in price. It’s almost a no-brainer to go with the pro
@BenjaminSalka what’s really crazy though is within the same brand that APL 55 is so much less efficient than the JP 50 pro. The APL 55 has better insulation, newer technology. I just don’t get it. I wonder if for some reason that one doesn’t have the scopp/Dan Foss compressor? It was kind of one of the major reasons I made this video. Every brand of fridge I try I find within the brand there tends to be a wide range of efficiency with no rhyme or reason. It’s worth taking a little time to study within each brand which fridge is right for you. You would think the more you spend, the better it would be…
Bye.
Later.
I bought a Chinese 12 vdc fridge, it's control board died, end of electric fridges for me. 💯💩🤷🏻♀️
Oh no! Sorry to hear that.
Where do you poop
Everywhere! Haha. I actuallly just made a video about that. We haven't released it yet though. The video, not the poop. Haha.
God forbid you visit BC!
Why is that? We spend quite a lot of time there beings we are from Alaska
Kids today love their way-overused catchphrases, like everything is a ton of this and a ton of that, even though they're not talking about weight at all.
Try using synonyms to your favorite word, which will make you sound more intelligent.
Will do sir.
I'm a bit confused.
If the smaller/cheaper fridges are more efficient in moderate climates, shouldn't that translate even more to hotter climates? If the extra insulation doesn't help much when it's 80 out, how is it going to help when it's 110?
It doesn’t transfer to hotter climates because that heat makes that compressor work double time. It’s not about the insulation on the inside keeping the inside cold, it’s about the insulation, keeping the outside out. I see how this could be confusing, I wish I would’ve addressed it a little more.
@@PlayingwithSticks That still doesn't really make sense. "Keeping the inside cold" and "Keeping the outside out" are literally the same thing. I'm not using "literally" loosely here, it is *literally*, *physically*, **thermodynamically** the same thing.
If the bigger fridges are better in hotter climates, they should be way better in cooler ones where the extra insulation means the compressor should hardly have to run at all. The smaller fridge should always be less efficient just from square-cube law, and when the larger fridge has extra insulation on top of that it should increase the gap even more. I'm not saying your personal observations are wrong (there's way more variables to consider), but the better fridge shouldn't switch because of the outside temperature. One is either more efficient or it isn't.
@@josephkerking8638 Not really? I get what you are saying with themodynamics. I'm saying one is stopping the cold from escaping, one is stopping the heat from coming in. Yes it goes both ways, that's obvious with thermodynamics. Insulation wasn't designed to be one way only. But, in this use case one has a greater impact than the other. Heat coming in tends to outcompete cold going out. Atleast anecdotally. Meaning, in a controlled environment at 75 degrees. Both a well insulated cooler and a poorly insulated cooler tend to keep in the same amount of cold. Cold isn't leaving faster from one or the other. The difference in efficiency in this environment comes down more to capacity or compressor, not insulation. Take those same two fridges outside to 100+ degrees and now it isn't as much about keeping that cold in as it is keeping that heat out. Again, I realized thermodynamics (goes both ways). But it really is that heat that will have the biggest impact on efficiency in hot weather. So back to your original question. The budget fridges are more efficient often because they either have less space to cool or they have a more efficient compressor at average temperatures. Throw in aggressive heat to that mix and now that compressor can't keep up. BUT, that insulation can. It reduces the work of the compressor on the high dollar fridge.
I think the main issue is not compressor efficiency. It has to do with how many panels that it requires to run the fridge. With a high efficiency compressor in a modest climate, you can keep ahead with a lower R value. But you get in a demanding environment you run out of available electricity. If you add in enough insulation, you can get ahead even with a low efficiency compressor. You wouldn't need as much insulation if your fridge was more efficient. My guess is that manufacturers just don't fill every option in the trade off between compressor technology and amount of insulation.
@richdobbs6595 thank you! You said this so much better than me
I love these information videos because they help me get started on product research for our camping needs/wants. I’d really like to see a meal planning video, Drew. (Hint-hint
🪳n👂🏼).
You know it’s funny, I started working on one. Right after you mentioned it. But as usual, I went out there to see who else was doing it. May and I have always said that if somebody’s doing it better, we will let them do it. Amanda outside does a much better job than I could ever do. If you go to her website, she has all the recipes and her methods nicely organized. After seeing all she has, I’m sorry to say I am probably putting this video on the back burner for a while. Her stuff is great! I don’t talk about it much on the channel, but that’s why I don’t do many videos on the brand hiker trailer or runaway. I absolutely love runaway trailers. But both of these brands have great owners out there with their own UA-cam channels making incredible content. There’s a number of things like this, where I just stay in my own lane.
@@PlayingwithSticks I appreciate the lead to Amanda’s channel. I’ll check her out.
I was wondering how you two plan, store and pack your food in a small space. Can you answer me this one thing? Do you pack for your whole time camping or for a couple of days and go into town to restock?.
You can give a small freezer, and freeze that ice packs and rotate them from freezer to cooler. There are people on the road who do that.
That’s a great idea.